


Sukoshi Shi

by teapotscandal, XanderB



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Assassins & Hitmen, Alternate Universe - Ninjas, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Assassins & Hitmen, Attempted Murder, Blood, Explicit Sexual Content, Fast smut/slow romance, Feudal Japan, Fluff and Smut, Language, M/M, Ninja, Oral Sex, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Prostitution, Resolved Sexual Tension, Rough Sex, Samurai, Smut, Some Humor, Switching, Swordfights, Vague Historical References, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-01
Updated: 2017-10-17
Packaged: 2018-08-12 08:02:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7927021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teapotscandal/pseuds/teapotscandal, https://archiveofourown.org/users/XanderB/pseuds/XanderB
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>At the back of the cage, leaning casually against the bars, stood a boy with messy brown hair and piercing green eyes. His plain olive-coloured yukata was loose, falling off one shoulder to reveal the smooth tan skin beneath and he stared at the house’s newest patrons, unafraid and unabashed with a slight smirk on his face. When Erwin finally took notice of him, he stood up straight and sauntered over to the blue eyed boy to take his hand and whisper in his ear. Whatever he said made the blonde whore blush brightly and giggle as the two snuck glances at their potential customers. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>Levi had been staring for several seconds too long at the brunette youth in the back corner. He'd scanned over all the whores the same as every other person within their vicinity, gauging all possible threats with a skilled eye. There was something odd about the whore. It was in his eyes... <b>Dangerous…</b></i>
</p><p>Levi is a legendary fighter paid to protect a foreigner named Erwin Smith. His duty becomes complicated when a green eyed assassin comes for his masters head and captures his interest. What does a ghost do when it gains an attractive shadow?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Ghost and the Shadow

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This is another collaboration by Teapot and Xander. This is our fourth work together, but we have two others we are thinking of posting soon. Let us know in the comments whether you'd like a Mafia AU first or another ABO AU.
> 
>  **Warning:** This work is rated mature for graphic depictions of nudity, sexuality, violence, and some imagery that may be disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised.

Levi had been in the employ of the Shogunate for three weeks. He was so far unimpressed with the skill of Erwin Smith's men. It was no wonder the tall westerner had had to seek assistance from a ronin such as himself, specifically himself, as a matter of fact. It had been made known to him that Erwin had specifically sought Levi out. He was _Ginchinmoku._ He was a silent death in the pale skin of men with eyes like liquid starlight; he was a demon, a specter, a nightmare in the guise of porcelain and raven feathers; he was legend. He was also supposed to be dead...

He did not know the details in which Erwin had managed to garner the information that he was very much alive and then track him down as well, but he suspected his uncle may have had something to do with it. Greedy bastard that he was would have sold his first born for the right price, let alone his dangerous nephew that he'd trained himself for just this purpose. Levi had not been home for years now, but he had no doubt his uncle's spies had eyes on him at all times. But that was neither here nor there.

He scoffed as he followed his employer into the red light district, silvery eyes narrowed and forever scanning the bustling crowd around them. Erwin had made it no secret that he had found the _Ginchinmoku_ which in turn had made it impossible for Levi to turn him down. The man was clever, he had to hand it to him. By revealing him, Erwin had placed Levi in such a bind. He was safer in the employ of a powerful man from a powerful clan than traveling alone now that his enemies knew he was still breathing, despite the fact that Smith had enemies as well.

He grunted when Erwin stopped abruptly before a whorehouse that catered to his _unique_ tastes and held up a hand to signify that this was his choice for the night, obviously eyeing a slim blonde boy lingering in the barred display room to the left of the doorway of the house. Other whores prostrated themselves around the blue eyed youth that batted his lashes shyly at Erwin. Levi sighed heavily and rubbed a hand over his eyes. The man was clever and intelligent, but a fool for a pair of pretty eyes, especially when they belonged to an equally pretty male body. Levi should know; the man had already propositioned him upon their first meeting. Erwin was lucky he could still visit whorehouses at all…

“Good evening, my Lords,” the manager of the house greeted as he bowed low upon Erwin and Levi’s entrance, “How many rooms and how much company will you require?”

Erwin finally tore his gaze from the caged whores and shifted it from the manager to his bodyguard, a wicked grin of mischief curled on his lips. "One room, two guests. The one with the blue eyes for me and for my _friend..._ " He trailed off, sharp gaze following the raven-haired swordsman's silver stare to come upon another pretty eyed boy.

At the back of the cage, leaning casually against the bars, stood a boy with messy brown hair and piercing green eyes. His plain olive-coloured yukata was loose, falling off one shoulder to reveal the smooth tan skin beneath and he stared at the house’s newest patrons, unafraid and unabashed with a slight smirk on his face. When Erwin finally took notice of him, he stood up straight and sauntered over to the blue eyed boy to take his hand and whisper in his ear. Whatever he said made the blonde whore blush brightly and giggle as the two snuck glances at their potential customers. 

Levi had been staring for several seconds too long at the brunette youth in the back corner. He'd scanned over all the whores the same as every other person within their vicinity, gauging all possible threats with a skilled eye. There was something odd about the whore. It was in his eyes... _Dangerous…_

He didn't realize he'd been looking so long until Erwin was speaking again and slinging an arm over the raven samurai's shoulders in a far too friendly manner. "-We’ll take that one; both for the whole night. And a bottle of sake; we're parched." 

Levi growled and shrugged the taller man's arm off of him, disgusted by Erwin's game; he did not want to play. He was tense, muscles rigid and poised as soon as the manager nodded with a pleasant grin, ushered them inside and to a room to await their company for the evening. The beautiful jade-eyed boy with skin that promised death and reeked of danger would come.

Sliding through the door with a graceful shuffle not usually found in such a commonplace whorehouse, the blonde whore led the way into the room with a deep bow, closely followed by his green eyed friend who held the sake. “My lords,” the blonde greeted in a delicate voice, “My name is Armin, and this is Eren. You chose us to be your companions for the night.”

Erwin swooned and grinned wickedly, immediately charming the little blonde and coaxing him to sit in his lap. Levi hardly heard him, nor did he care to. His mercury eyes narrowed in suspicion and he palmed at the hilt of the katana at his hip as he watched the brunette boy balancing the tray with their beverages on it with far too much grace for Levi's liking. Something was amiss. He could feel the tiny hairs all over his body stand up with the charge of instinctive guard.

Kneeling beside the shorter man, Eren set down the tray and began to pour four cups of sake before he set his eyes on his customer and noticed his hand on his weapon.

“Am I not to your liking, my lord? I can request another for your entertainment,” he said with lowered eyes and a small challenging smile as if he was laughing at the threat the other man displayed.

Levi's eyes flickered over the boy, searching for cues that he was hostile, but there seemed to be none, though it was clearly a challenge in his tone as if he was daring Levi to make the first move, which he would not. He knew that he was not mistaken in his caution, but without a clear tell, Eren could be an assassin meant for someone else. He could not afford to make assumptions.

He inclined his head and lowered his lashes, watching Eren from beneath them. "I'm afraid you'll be disappointed; I'm not much good company," he murmured, voice soft and smoky as if it was used only sparingly.

Eren laughed as he reached forward to place Levi’s cup in front of him. “It doesn’t matter whether you’re good company or not as long as I get paid.” He picked up his own cup and took a sip of the burning liquid. Eren’s lips glistened with sake as he put his cup down. “If my lord wishes,” he said, loosening the tie on the front of his yukata so that the fabric slid further off his shoulders, “We do not have to talk.”

Levi brought his own cup up and sniffed at it, watching Eren as he sipped his own before trying to distract him. It worked to a degree as snowy eyes followed the path of the coarse silk on Eren's skin, but he did not drink the alcohol. He raised a thin dark brow, jaw twitching ever so subtly as he swallowed a sudden excess of saliva in his mouth. He set the cup back down and laid his hand on his thigh instead, the other still resting on the sword in a seemingly lax pose. "I'm not a lord and I have no use for wishes. Do as you'd like. You'll be paid either way." His reply was said in that same smoky murmur, his tone entirely ambiguous, though his eyes remained on Eren's skin.

“Mm,” Eren hummed as he tracked Levi’s cup and licked the sake off his lips. “Do as I’d like,” he repeated as he moved his body closer to his patron and slid his hand down the man’s arm to thread his fingers with the hand that rested on Levi’s thigh. Eren leaned in to ghost his lips over the soft shell of the man’s ear and whisper, “I hope you don’t regret that command. What do you want to be called if not ‘my lord’?”

Levi's gaze slanted to the fingers twined with his own, lips pursed in an apathetic line even as he swallowed again, ignoring the shiver and giving no outward sign of it as it crawled down his spine. His own fingers were cool and Eren's skin felt like fire igniting along the pale, scarred and calloused flesh and made him twitch. "Call me _Gin,_ " he replied as his eyes tracked back to Eren's face, searching for a flicker of recognition in response to the subtle hint of whom he was. His real name was not widely known, but his imposed title was.

Eren moved back to meet Levi’s gaze with a smile. “ _Gin_ it is,” he said before he leaned down to nose the delicate skin of the man’s neck. “What would you like me to do _Gin_? Or shall I decide that as well?” he asked before he opened his mouth to suck lightly on Levi’s pulse point. 

Levi forced his breathing to remain steady, for his pulse to remain slow, but both hands tensed in their respective grips.

"That depends on who you're here to kill little shadow. I can smell your danger," he breathed, pressing his lips close to the boy's ear, his voice husky and low, flowing like hot silk from his tongue.

Letting go of Levi’s neck with a pop, Eren sat back with a devilish grin. “And you taste like death. Too bad… I wouldn’t have minded pleasuring the **Ginchinmoku**.” As soon as Levi’s name left his lips, a blade slipped into his free hand from his sleeve and he pressed it to the man’s neck before the katana could be drawn. At the same time, Armin removed himself from Erwin’s roaming hands and fled the room. “Don’t move. The blade is tipped with poison,” he said to Levi as he glanced towards a bewildered Erwin, “I’m not here for you. I’m here for your master.”

Levi licked his lips, a slow curve overtaking them in the wake of his tongue. "Then your blade should be on his throat instead," the pale swordsman said in reply, the grip of his fingers on Eren's other hand tightening painfully as Levi leaned dangerously into the threatening press of the blade at his throat and his other hand rose very slowly away from his weapons as though in surrender. "Can a shadow kill a ghost?"

“My blade keeps the only threat in this room at bay,” Eren scoffed. Leaning forward once again, he suddenly captured Levi’s lips in an open mouthed kiss. He broke the kiss to smirk with passion dancing like fire in his eyes and say, “The shadow doesn’t need to kill the ghost. It just needs to convince the ghost that his master is... **Expendable**.” Eren squeezed the man’s hand back, matching strength for strength in the bruising grasp. “Let me kill him. Then we can have all the _fun_ we want since you denied me my games.”

"You know I can't do that just as surely as I know you will slit my throat as soon as you've had your _fun._ Though, I can't say I don't appreciate your methods of persuasion," Levi purred, thick lashes veiling the molten mercury of his eyes, licking the taste of Eren from his lips, bittersweet and sharp like venom in the blood. He raised his unoccupied hand to caress along the column of Eren's neck, barely touching and dangerously gentle. drawing the young man in for another taste. "Unfortunately, I'll have to decline, but perhaps some other time," he murmured against Eren's mouth before he very suddenly fell back, head angled away from the kiss of the poisoned blade's edge as he moved like the smoke that clung to his voice and without sound, flipping in a reverse somersault and rolling to his feet like water off of feathers, his sword drawn with the motion and nothing more than a hiss of steel from its sheath.

Erwin had begun to move, obviously becoming aware of the seriousness of the situation which was now clearly an attempt on their lives, or at least on his and Levi's by proxy, he supposed. He was on his feet, but crouching as if to make himself less noticeable and he palmed at the small tantō tucked into the obi of his yukata.

Eren didn't react immediately as Levi moved; he just sighed. "I wouldn't have killed you when we were done. If you're good at something, never do it for free." He rose to his feet, still smiling as his fingers were suddenly lined with throwing daggers alongside the blade he already held. "Although, I imagine the Ginchinmoku would have a large bounty as well."

Cocking his head at Levi, his smile turned almost deranged as Eren said, "I wonder how long the poison on my lips will take to affect a ghost. Don't worry, it will only paralyze for a few hours. Lots of time for me to finish my task and leave." Eren seemed to purposely ignore Erwin, since his main obstacle was set on fighting him.

Levi was unsurprised by such a revelation; he'd figured as much from the bitterness lingering on his palate in the wake of Eren's kiss and the subtle numbness of his tongue. "I thought your lips tasted of hemlock nectar. Clever little shadow, but not so clever as you think. I've a tolerance for many poisons. How do you think I lived to become a ghost?" The pale man licked his lips in a slow, almost mocking demonstration and shifted his feet in a defensive stance, his blade catching in the lantern light, flickering flames upon the steel with vicious promise. Erwin crept back towards the doorway as the two other men squared off in the moderately spacious room.

Flicking his wrist, Eren whipped a dagger that plunged into Erwin's thigh without looking, forcing the man to his knees. "Stay where you are. I'm not finished with you yet." 

Eren rolled his head on his shoulders and shook out his arms as he bounced on his feet, sneering at Levi's severity. " **Many** poisons. Not **all** ," Eren said in a sing song voice, "Maybe I'll get lucky. I like my odds." Shifting his feet, he lifted his blade and daggers in an offensive stance, grinning at Levi wildly. "Why don't you show me how you got your name, huh?"

"I wouldn’t count on it. Shadows are unlucky by the very nature of their existence which is ever so fleeting," the samurai returned as he began to move, motions deliberate and graceful, slow and predatory. His silver stare narrowed, the pupils pin drops within the squalling starlight reflecting mercury as he watched the young man, appreciating the challenge and the feisty attitude of the pretty jade-eyed assassin. He’d hardly noticed the yelp and hiss of his employer when Eren's blade embedded in his thigh, entirely focused on the task at hand. Erwin would live from such a wound so long as Levi incapacitated the brunette before Eren had the chance to do more damage.

The shift was so abrupt that he was barely more than a pale blur and whisper of cloth as he moved, feet making not a sound as if they did not even touch the ground and he was so close to Eren so quickly, he could breathe the same breath. "Are you sure you can keep up?" he teased on an exhale of cool breath before he whirled around to Eren's back, nicking the back of the boy's thigh with the very tip of his katana almost playfully and moving away again just as quickly.

Eren flinched only slightly when Levi’s katana tasted his flesh; his smile faltering for only a moment. “I’m not sure,” Eren said, shifting to the balls of his feet, “But that’s what makes this so interesting. They don’t call me the suicidal bastard for **nothing**.” On his last word, Eren lunged forward, throwing two of his kunai, then slashing with his blade. Levi, of course, dodged the daggers and countered the blade with his katana; exactly as the boy was expecting. In the last moment, he threw out a high kick, slamming the man directly in his jaw with the heel of his foot. 

Levi felt the impact echo through his body and let the momentum of it take him, stepping back and shifting his jaw experimentally to assess the damage. It ached, perhaps cracked, but not broken, though his teeth had cut into his cheek as a result of the hit and he spit blood off to the side, reddening his pale lips, looking a little more like a vengeful spirit or youkai by the moment. "Not bad for a _little_ shadow," he commented, licking his lips and adjusting the hold on his blade as he circled the boy, but kept his distance. "Show me again," he challenged, silver eyes glinting with dark humour and lust that was not only meant for blood.

“You said I was clever,” Eren countered casually, mimicking the man’s movement as they circled each other, “I can’t show you the same trick twice. That’s how I die.” He reached out with his blade to tap against Levi’s katana playfully, as if they were sparring; the sound of the metal piercing through the room “If you want me, why don’t you come get me,” he taunted, challenging the man to take the offensive. The fire in Eren’s eyes blazed, matching Levi’s intensity.

Levi flipped the blade in his hand, rolling his wrist, "Who says I want you at all? A ghost has no need for a shadow, especially an unruly one." A little smirk quirked the corner of the raven samurai's lips and he pressed in fast again, driving the hilt of his blade into Eren's gut with vicious accuracy, avoiding the flailing of limbs and weapons and sweeping out a leg swiftly in an attempt to knock the boy to the lacquered wood flooring.

As soon as Eren was knocked off his feet, he rolled away from the threat, ending up at the opposite end of the room beside the open window. He looked at Levi with a strained smile, clutching his stomach as he regained the breath that the man’s attack had forced out of him. A shimmer of fear flashed across Eren’s eyes as he realized Levi could have easily run him through if he would have kept his blade in its original grip. “If you _don’t_ want me, then why don’t you kill me?” he asked hoarsely, readying his weapons once more. 

Eren didn’t get the chance to implement his counter attack due to the door bursting open and a number of Erwin’s delayed guard coming to rescue their master finally. “Tch,” Eren clicked in annoyance. He gave Levi one last lingering look before he jumped clean out the window and disappeared into the night. He was an assassin, his talents lying in subtlety and swift deliverance. He wouldn’t fight so many enemies at once. Eren would live today and come for Erwin’s head another. 

Levi chuckled, sheathing his blade smoothly. "Why indeed," he murmured, looking out into the shadows of night beyond the open window where the youth had escaped as Erwin's men spread through the room, some going immediately to assist the taller westerner.

His thoughts wandered as he followed the troupe of ill-disciplined thugs from the room and the whorehouse altogether moments later, ignoring the simpering apologies of the proprietor of the establishment, gaze scanning over the crowded streets once again unconsciously while his mind drifted, body thrumming with caged energy and rampant curious interest. His little shadow had been intriguing to say the least and Levi wondered who had sent such a vibrant gift his way. He'd have to ask the next time they met.


	2. Catching Shadows

After Eren had escaped the brothel, he stayed up for the rest of the night pacing and pulling at his hair in frustration. Nothing had gone to plan and now his target not only knew his face but also his real name. It had been a grave mistake and underestimation to assume his identity wouldn’t matter when both witnesses would be dead by the end of the night. They were still breathing so it was time to think of a new strategy.

Eren sighed and sat down in the tiny broken down house on the edge of the city. He had been shadowing Erwin for weeks, even learned the man’s sexual preference to set the stage in the brothel loyal to his clan. He didn’t think there was anything more to find out, but obviously to get to Erwin, he needed to get past the Ginchinmoku. Eren would need to shadow _Gin_ from now on. 

Looking out of the broken window, Eren saw the sun break the horizon. He stood up and started to put on daggers, blades, poisons, throwing stars, and a bow equipped with quiver of arrows; as much as could fit on his body. To cover it all, he threw on a dark blue yukata decorated with waves and a white bandana to cover his hair so he could walk through the streets without suspicion. To any onlooker, he would seem like a simple fisherman or merchant in the city to do business. 

Leaving the house, he set a course for the castle. Eren knew that Gin would take early morning walks in the yards of the fortress; Eren would be able to find him there. 

~~~

Levi was standing by one of several still ponds on Erwin's property beneath the large sakura tree that he so often favoured in the past weeks. His eyes were closed, one hand resting lightly on the daishō at his dark blue hakama clothed left hip while his other was tucked between the fold of his snowy white kimono and silvery shitagi beneath, looking serene and much like a warrior spirit between the swirling petals of the blossoms raining down from the tree. 

It was morning, early, too early for his master to be calling and this was the time he found peace, escape and freedom from the pressure of duty and honour he could do without. His mind wandered like the breeze that rippled the lotus encrusted pond surface and his thoughts moved just as surely, never touching or tangling, but spreading until they faded into nothing only to be replaced by others. He inhaled deeply and let the exhale out through his mouth silently, listening to the life around his still body.

Eren easily managed to scale the walls of the fortress and enter the small section of forest the grounds held. From high up a tree, he stared at Gin, sitting peacefully in front of a pond. The man was unmoving for quite some time, and Eren was impatient. Pulling his bow off his back, he ripped a piece of fabric off his undershirt and wrote ‘The little shadow is watching' in Kanji then tied it to an arrow. Firing straight and true, he hit the sakura tree with the arrow, plunging deep into the bark just above Levi's head, then bounded across the forest so his location wouldn't be given away.

Levi's eyes shot open, pupils narrowing swiftly as his sharp hearing picked up the whistle of the arrow cutting through the air just before the telltale thump of its embedding in the trunk of the tree not so far from his turned head. He remained still for several seconds, eyes searching from the arrow to the surroundings around him as he listened, straining to hear if there would be another to follow. 

Deciding there would not be another and that the first had not been meant to take his life, he stepped up to pull it from the bark, tilting his head curiously at the cloth that clung to the projectile. He pulled it from the arrow and a look of bemusement crossed his features as his silver eyes scanned over the characters. So his unruly shadow had returned. He tucked the arrow in the back of uwa-obi and tucked the little message in the fold of his clothing, turning to idly scan the sprawling land around him. If he were a shadow playing a game of hide and seek, where would he be found? He smiled to himself. Somehow, he knew he would not find him at all unless Eren wished to be found.

Eren giggled at his new game from a different tree. He wondered how much he could make the man sweat without actually hurting him. Taking another arrow and fabric he wrote ‘Did the ghost miss his shadow?’. This time when Eren knocked his arrow and pulled back the bowstring, he took a moment to steady himself as he aimed; inhaling a large amount of air, then releasing the string on the exhale. The arrow whizzed through the air and came close to nicking Gin’s ear before it struck the same place on the tree as the previous arrow. 

Levi heard it coming, head tilting just a fraction to avoid being grazed by the sharp arrowhead, several dark strands of hair that could not be avoided taking flight and lost in the breeze. He hummed. Such a bold little shadow...

He retrieved the second arrow, handling it the same as the first. He turned his head to the side, glancing sidelong from beneath his lashes in the direction the second projectile had come from, "How should a ghost lament a shadow that cowers within its kin?" he called, letting his smoky voice carry on the breeze. He palmed at the hilt of his sword discretely. he would play Eren's game for now. The next arrow would not make impact and Levi would know where the boy was at.

"Let's make this interesting," Eren breathed to himself as he wrote his message. ‘Catch,’ was the only kanji written as he knocked his arrow for the third time and aimed straight for Gin’s heart. If the man could not dodge the arrow, so be it. If he did, maybe they could play some more. He inhaled, closed his eyes, then released the string. Eren would deny it later, but in that moment he hoped his ghost really could catch the arrow.

Levi's movement was a blur, sword drawn and cutting the arrow from the air in the blink of an eye before it could pierce his chest, but his narrowed gaze was elsewhere. Though he could not see Eren, his gaze was directly on him. "You better run little shadow; I'm coming for you," he murmured as his waraji clad feet dug into the plush grass and sinewy muscle bunched and coiled seconds before he bolted in the direction the arrow had come from, so fast that his feet barely touched the earth beneath, weightless as if the wind carried him on its back.

Eren sat down on his tree limb and waited for his ghost to come. He had no idea what he was doing. Assassins didn't alert their enemy to their location; it went against all of his training. But Eren wanted to see Gin again, hear the man's voice up close. He told himself it was for intel but it was a total lie born out of denial. Pretty soon this entire mission would be compromised and he knew it. He would have to leave this to another member of his clan; he'd gotten involved too deeply. 

As Levi came to stand at the bottom of the tall tree, Eren smiled and waved from his high seat, looking down at Levi. "Did you not like my game, Gin?"

The samurai had barely broken a sweat from his mad dash to Eren's location and his breath was hardly laboured as he stared up at the boy lounging in the arms of the tree in which he sat. "I think I should like it more if I could claim my winnings," he called up to the young man, eyes glinting with humour and heat. Such a funny little shadow to lure him like this. Levi had no idea what the boy's motives were in his actions and he should be suspicious, but it was rather thrilling to play with his own mortality this way and he was hardly afraid of death. After all, what did a ghost have to fear in death?

The vibrant eyed assassin was lovely and full of fire and Levi had been playing dead far too long. To touch those flames, to taste them; how alive would he feel?

"And what winnings are those," Eren said with a laugh as he swung his feet back and forth from the tree branch with glee.

Levi lolled his head back on his shoulders and watched the boy in the branches, "You tell me; it's your game... I thought I was gaining my shadow," he replied, tucking his hands into the opposing wide sleeves of his kimono and shifting his feet idly.

Eren pushed off from the branch and dropped down to land silently in front of Levi, bending his knees to absorb the impact. Standing up, he gave Levi a wide grin as he lifted his arms behind his head nonchalantly. "You said you didn't want me. Now you do? Which is it?" Eren asked with teasing in his tone.

"If you plan to follow me, I might as well have you and as you said, if I didn't want you, I would have killed you," Levi said, lowering his lashes as he met Eren's gaze, amusement and a little lust in his own. "You are an interesting shadow to be teasing a ghost."

"And you are an amusing ghost to take interest in a shadow," Eren said in a sing song voice. "Have me you say? I want you too of course, but I never said I'd make it easy." Eren shifted his feet into a defensive stance, raising his weaponless hands. He figured if he sparred against the man, he could learn Gin's weaknesses and eventually be able to kill him.

Levi looked him over suspiciously, gaze sliding over his body in an effort to pinpoint any hidden weapons that Eren obviously would have on him. Levi could not spar with his daishō and yet he was not certain that setting them aside while playing whatever game they were playing was an appropriate decision, given that he was still fairly certain that Eren planned to kill him. Eventually...

"Why is that exactly? That you want me... You seemed eager before as well," he said, slowly reaching for the ties on the swords at his hip and unfastening them with nimble fingers whilst watching Eren intently.

"Because this way is more fun," Eren said with a smirk. He waited for Levi to remove his weapons, then he lunged forward, punching and kicking in wide arc, testing Levi's response. Levi managed to catch his arm and hold him, so Eren leaned in further to smell the man. "Plus how should we ever decide who will play the woman’s role? Isn't this the best way?" He licked his lips as his eyes filled with lust so close to the man he'd been obsessing over.

Levi raised a brow and a breathy chuckle escaped pale lips, tilting his head away from Eren as he leaned in, the scent of orchids on his skin, light and airy with just a hint of sweetness. "You're not wrong," he agreed before he released Eren at the same moment he raised a knee, intending to thrust it into the young man's abdomen, though Eren was quick to block it before the samurai whirled away from him, settling into a bowed and low fighting stance, silver and blue swirling intensely in his narrowed eyes, heat pooling low in his gut and licking fire beneath his skin as his interest peaked and adrenaline rushed through his thrumming blood. The corner of his mouth quirked up in a smirk. "Perhaps now, I should have you chase me _little_ shadow," he said in a low and husky murmur.

"Then you’d better run," Eren said, shifting forward like he might reach out and catch the man before he could get away. One of Eren's favourite games was cat and mouse.

Levi's smirk grew and became wicked, sultry and dangerous and he only watched the play of the breeze tousling chestnut strands for brief seconds before he turned and was gone in a whisper of fabric, the scent of orchids lingering in his wake. He moved swiftly into the forestry, zigzagging between trees and clearing thick roots and low bushes as he moved, casting a glance over his shoulder and releasing another soft chuckle before he made an abrupt turn left and circled back around to silently stalk Eren when he attempted to follow.

Eren chased after Levi's after image, moving silently through the forest as he tried to catch up to the man. Soon the man completely disappeared and Eren paused his pursuit, looking around the trees wildly, searching for some sign of the man to track. “I thought we were playing cat and mouse, not hide and seek,” Eren called out into the woods in a huff. 

Levi caught Eren around the middle from behind and toppled him to the ground, pinning him and leaning to murmur breathily in the boy's ear, "Ghosts don't need to hide when they are too fast for you to see and too silent for you to hear. Shadows are only dangerous when they are wrapped in their kin. I think I'm winning _chibikage._ "

Eren just sighed as he laid sprawled out on the forest floor on his belly. "Maybe I want you to win," he said breathily, turning his head to side eye the man that pinned him.

"Mm, is that so?" The pale samurai hummed gutturally, pressing his erection against Eren's rear roughly, making it felt even through the many layers of clothing between them. The fingers of his free hand wrapped around the assassin's wrists in a tight grip pinning both Eren's wrists harshly to the ground and quickly patted him down, relieving him of every weapon Eren was carrying that he could reach, eyes alighting with heat with every brush of skin and every sharp kiss of iron to be felt.

Eren whined and struggled against Levi's hands that pinned his wrists to the ground as the man started to remove the boy’s weapons. When Levi continued his hold, he stopped struggling. "To get them all, you're going to have to strip me completely. Although I'm still dangerous even without my weapons," Eren said with a crooked smirk. To demonstrate he lifted his head to bite the arm that pinned his wrist, hard enough to leave a dark purple bruise on pale skin. He licked the wound before he looked back at Levi with his bright green eyes full of challenge.

Levi's jaw twitched and he growled at the sting of teeth on his forearm, but he didn't release his grip. He leaned forward further and jerked Eren's chin towards him with his free hand once the ninja had removed his teeth from the now bruised flesh of the samurai's arm. "I'm counting on it," he murmured, voice low and gravelly, thick with arousal just before he harshly devoured the other man's mouth and rutted against his rear in rhythmic rolling thrusts.

Eren kissed the man back just as fiercely, craning his neck to turn around, still pinned on his stomach. He raised his hips to grind back into Levi as well and give room to his own aching erection. He broke the kiss to moan, " **Gin** ," against the other man's lips.

"Levi," the raven corrected as he pulled back, licking his lips and shuffling back off of Eren altogether, kneeling and watching him intently, "Strip," he ordered, fists clenching on his thighs as he shifted his weight impatiently

Eren rolled onto his back and sat up. " **Levi** ," he said with red swollen lips as he started to untie his yukata, slowly and deliberately as he watched the man. The blue fabric slid off his shoulders and pooled on the ground, revealing tanned toned skin and a plethora of weapons Levi hadn't been able to reach. They were strapped around his thighs and waist, but Eren quickly tore them off and threw them to the side where his other weapons lay out of reach. All that remained was Eren's smallclothes that covered a large, straining erection and a bottle of clear liquid in his hand. He grinned wickedly as Levi stared at him and asked, "Enjoying the view?"

Levi's pupils dilated quickly, thick and dark, the mercury of his irises nothing more than a silver ring around them. He swallowed visibly and licked his lips again, running his tongue along his teeth as he watched each inch of bronze skin greedily as Eren revealed it to him. It was clear by the boy's eagerness to rid himself of his clothing and his weaponry that he was not lying in his desires; he genuinely wanted the pale samurai. 

"I certainly have no complaints. I didn't know shadows could be so captivating," he breathed in response, shifting once again, fingers twitching with the ferocious desire to touch. He slowly rose to his own feet, the motion fluid as he straightened his posture without cautious thought, hands falling to the ties of the dark linen hakama at his hips, not taking his eyes off of the young man as he slowly unfastened them and slid them from his legs, the corded muscle of his calves and thighs taut and shifting beneath his milky and scarred skin revealed from beneath. He folded the fabric loosely, standing before Eren in his pale white silk kimono and silver shitagi. He let the folded hakama fall to the soft grassy ground next to his feet and played with the tie at his waist almost teasingly.

“Levi,” Eren whined, squirming naked where he sat as goosebumps rose on his tan skin, though he was nowhere near cold. “Please,” he begged, wide eyed and panting as he reached down to palm himself through the white cloth of his undergarments. 

Levi watched Eren squirm, staying silent and smirking as he tugged the uwa-obi free and let it pool in a loose coil at his feet, the fabric of his kimono falling open as he raised his hands to untie the shitagi beneath, letting the soft linen fall open as well. His well defined chest and abdomen were as pale and scarred as the rest of him tapering down to an almost delicate waist, sharp hipbones and a thin smattering of dark hair just visible over the cotton of his black fundoshi. He plucked at the bound undergarments, tilting his head coyly as his erection strained beneath, eager and wanting. "You'd better open that oil now," he warned huskily as the material of his underwear was tugged free, unwinding slowly and trailing down his legs to reveal the impressive organ beneath.

Eren licked his lips and swallowed, eyes hungry as he stared at Levi's manhood. Crawling forward to kneel in front of the man, he looked up with his glittering green eyes and said, "I want a taste. Please?"

Levi fisted a hand in the soft chestnut strands of Eren's hair before he could get any closer, "Can I trust your mouth is free of poison?" he questioned, voice guttural with arousal and his manhood twitched with the promise of the wet warmth of the assassin's mouth on it, but he wasn't about to let the boy who's kiss had been venomous the day before place those same lips on the most vulnerable parts of his body without some reassurance; it didn't matter that he had already kissed Eren again.

Eren's eyes flashed dangerously before he nodded his head to say,"It is. But whether or not you can trust my word is up to you." Opening his mouth wide to reveal his pink tongue, he glared up at Levi in challenge, waiting for the man to make a decision.

Levi's eyes glimmered with dangerous warning and he jerked his chin, "I suppose it wouldn't be the worst way to die," he said as he used the grip on Eren's hair to yank him forward, his breath exhaled harshly through his nose as a shiver of anticipation shuddered through him. His grip turned almost gentle as Eren's breath washed over his glistening cock and his body went entirely still in anticipation for the feel of that sharp tongue against his flesh.

The assassin started by darting out his tongue to lick the bead of precome that formed on the tip of Levi's length. He lapped at the tip a few more times before he pulled the head of Levi's erection into his mouth to suck on.

The pale samurai's head lolled onto his shoulder, eyelids drooping half closed as he watched the tip of his member disappear behind the slick, bowed lips and a breathy growl rumbled from his throat. His fingers stroked through the assassin's hair encouragingly as a flush of rouge rose to his pale cheeks, hips twitching with the desire to thrust into the intoxicating warm wetness, but he managed to control himself.

There was the caress of teeth, a hovering danger and Levi hissed through his teeth, "If you bite me, I'll break your neck." It was a warning, a threat that he would follow through on should Eren do anything to break the delicate trust the samurai was giving him. Levi wasn't used to giving his trust to anyone, certainly not assassins that had already made attempts on his life, but for whatever reasons, he could not resist the heady rush of lust that Eren invoked in him and he was willing to be a little careless if it meant he could sate the ferocious desire burning beneath his skin.

Staring up at Levi defiantly, Eren lightly grazed the man's sensitive skin with his teeth once more. He made sure he did it delicately so that it wouldn't hurt, just tease the surface. He swirled his tongue around the head a couple times before he started to pull the shaft deeper into his mouth in teasingly slow intervals until his nose was tickled by Levi's black pubic hair.

Eren swallowed hard around the length, his throat clamping down and rippling over Levi's manhood. He started to pull the shaft out of his mouth to bob his head on the erection, moving the shaft in and out.

All too soon, Eren removed his mouth from Levi's manhood with a slick pop, grinning up at the man devilishly. "Well you're not dead, and I didn't bite your dick off. Still going to break my neck?" he asked innocently, like Levi shouldn't be afraid of Eren's tricks.

Levi swallowed hard and grunted, fingers spasming in the young man's hair as Eren's mouth worked his cock and he growled when that mouth left the organ. He shivered as the breeze kissed the moist and straining flesh and he licked his lips, blown mercury flickering to Eren's lips as he spoke.

"Clever, seems you like life," he murmured, fingers tightening in Eren's hair again before he was reaching his other hand to maneuver Eren onto his hands and knees roughly, sliding his hands to grip at the boy's hips instead and knocking his thighs apart with his knee before he pressed his cock flush against Eren's ass and bit at his shoulder harshly, "I'm going to break you little shadow, but you'll still breathe at the end."

"Wait," Eren said, scrambling to pick up the vial he’d set down while he sucked Levi off. "I'm no woman," he said, slightly panicked as he handed the oil to Levi, "Slick yourself with this. It'll feel better for both of us."

Levi chuckled huskily, breath stirring the fine hairs behind Eren's ear as he accepted the vial, "No, you're certainly no woman," he murmured, sitting back on his haunches a moment to pour a generous amount of the oil into his hand, slicking his erection quickly before he was pressing two fingers to the boy's entrance, groping his soft asscheek with his other hand, fully intending to make the preparation swift.

"Ah," Eren cried at the sudden intrusion, feeling himself being stretched out as Levi's fingers touched his insides. When the burning subsided, Eren started to rock his hips back as Levi curled and scissored his fingers. "More," Eren demanded.

"Patience chibikage," the samurai scolded, pressing another finger inside suddenly and thrusting all three in and out in several quick-rough motions before he pulled them out entirely and wrapped them around the base of his manhood. He guided the slick, blunted head to the loosened pucker and snapped his hips forward, a gravelly growl of pleasure vibrating through his chest as he buried himself most of the way inside the tight heat, stilling only a second before he pulled his hips back and with both hands on Eren's, forced himself the rest of the way inside. He stilled again once his pelvis was flush with the cheeks of Eren's backside and closed his eyes, panting harshly and shuddering, muscles twitching with the desperate urge to move.

The young assassin screamed out as Levi entered him roughly. It was extremely painful, but it also felt good at the same time. When Levi was flush against him, he bit out through gritted teeth, "Don't you dare fucking move."

Eren inhaled deeply, trying to relax his body and trick it into accepting Levi. Slowly, his tight muscles unclenched and the pain faded. He wiggled his hips, receiving flashes of ecstasy. Biting his lip, Eren sighed then ordered "Move."

Levi's brow furrowed with pleasure and he bowed over Eren's back, palming roughly at his sides and hips as he began rocking in and out of the assassin when the boy gave the word. His pressed open mouthed kisses over Eren's shoulders, lapping up the salty sweet sweat from his skin and leaving dark marks with his teeth, grunting breathily as he moved, the thrusts rather shallow and jerky to start before he began pulling further out, almost to the tip before pressing back in with smooth, but hard and deep thrusts.

"Levi… Ah... S'good," Eren moaned as the man slammed into him over and over. He dropped down so that his back was arched up and his face was in the ground. With this position Levi was able to hit his prostate, causing Eren to scream with pleasure. "Right-... Right there... More... Levi, Levi, Levi!"

The samurai growled, straightening his posture and adjusting his grip on Eren's hips, drawing them back against his own as he thrust harder and faster, the position allowing him to press in deeply and rake over the young man's prostate with every rough motion, their bodies rocking together. His grip on the boy's hips was bruising and there were kiss marks lining his shoulders and the base of his neck from Levi's mouth and looking at them only made the pale man want to leave more.

Levi panted and grunted with effort and arousal, sweating with exertion as he slammed repeatedly into the greedy clenching channel, guttural groans and low growls disrupting his harsh breaths every now and again. He was getting close, could feel himself on the edge. "Touch yourself," he ordered breathily, motions slowing for a moment as he spoke and waited for the boy to follow the command.

"I won't... Last much longer," Eren said with a breathy whine as he reached down between his legs to grab onto his neglected cock. Stroking furiously, Eren rocked his hips into his hand then back into Levi’s cock to get the most sensation inside and out. "Fuck me," Eren ordered, about to come from fisting his own cock.

Levi grit his teeth, growling at the command, but complying, immediately picking up the pace of his movements once again, thrusting forcefully into the young man, his fingernails leaving little half moon divots in the flesh of Eren's hips as he guided them into the erratic and intense rhythm of his own. His chest heaved with his breaths, muscles tensing as he tossed his head back, eyes shutting tightly as pleasure rushed through him in hot, electric waves. "Fuck... Eren," he hissed hoarsely as his hips stuttered and the searing coil in his belly snapped, sending a wash of euphoric heat through him, blood on fire in his veins and static in his ears as white spots danced behind his closed eyelids and vibrant bursts of ecstasy prickled at his nerves. His cock jerked inside Eren, painting his inner walls with hot, slick cum in copious amounts and he shuddered, body taut and tense as he came.

Eren, moving his arm as fast as he could, came right after Levi, feeling the man burst on the inside. He covered the forest floor with his seed then collapsed in a panting sweaty mess on the ground. The assassin breathed heavily, with Levi on top of him, being slightly crushed by the other man’s body weight. In his dazed euphoric state, he sighed, "That was amazing. Too bad I have to kill you. Unless you'll let me have Erwin now." He turned his head to give Levi a cheeky smile, already knowing the man's answer.

Levi chuckled huskily, "You know I can't give Erwin to you. You're being awfully presumptuous that you will be able to kill me, considering you can barely keep up." He straightened up, his softening member slipping from inside the slick entrance and he ran an appreciative hand down the slope of Eren's back to the base of his neck, fingers massaging there a moment or two as he spoke more, "Maybe you'll get lucky though... It'll be such a shame either way. I wouldn't mind playing this game a little longer."

Eren shooed Levi's hand away to roll back onto his back now that he was free from the man. He was starting to get that nervous itch to flee before he became too attached. Levi couldn't touch him so tenderly; that's not what this was.

"I'm an optimist. And I'm persistent. But maybe I'll try to kill Erwin _without_ killing you." Eren sat up halfway to lean on his arm trailing his eyes up and down Levi's body as he licked his lips. "I don't want to end it either. This may be the greatest game I've ever played."

Levi hummed and pushed himself to his feet, ignoring the numbness in his limbs. He peeled his kimono and shitagi off, using the latter to clean himself off before he immediately began redressing minus his soiled undershirt, feeling entirely too vulnerable without his clothing and his swords now that their lust had been momentarily sated. "You can try, but I think you're begging the gods for an act of divinity," he murmured, retying the uwa-obi at his waist and cinching his kimono closed, shimmying into his hakama and tying them as well before he folded up the soiled linen of his shitagi and tucked it into his kimono idly.

Once fully dressed, he looked over the young man, the heat of desire still lingering in his eyes, though it was no longer aflame, tamed for the moment, but not abated in the least. He was still attracted, still wanting and ensnared by the devious little shadow that was dangerous and whispered promises of death from those tempting lips. He looked away abruptly, glancing up to the sky overhead, squinting to catch sight of the sun between the branches of the trees. His master would be waking and it was time to return to his side. He sighed and turned reluctantly to make his way back to where he had left his weapons, turning his head to the side to speak before he was gone as swiftly and silently as he'd come for Eren, "I look forward to the next time we play chibikage. Don't wait too long before you come to kill me; I wouldn't want to miss my shadow."

Eren flopped back onto his back with a sigh, staring up at the treetops that loomed above him. This game was fun, but his employer would be suspicious if he didn't get the job done soon or die trying. "How did it end up like this," he groaned, slinging a hand over his head. Levi would be the death of him one way or another.


	3. *Important Author's Note*

Hello to all of our wonderful fans and supporters, this is a special notice we felt was necessary to make. No, we’re not on hiatus or anything like that, though we do ask that you all continue being patient with our updates, but that is neither here nor there. 

It has recently been drawn to our attention that there are some works being published by other authors that bear a striking resemblance to some of our works to the point that it is theft. We are currently investigating and taking measures to counteract the issue and would like to ask that any of you who happen to notice any such plagiarism to please to let us know via email at xander_bradeshaw@hotmail.com or teapotscandal@gmail.com. We don’t want to start some kind of witch hunt or war or any such thing, but it is disconcerting to see such blatant use of our characterizations and elements that we worked so hard on in works that do not belong to us.

We would like to express our gratitude to all of you loyal fans for your support and let you know that we appreciate you and will continue to share our works with all of you even with this upsetting discovery. Thank you all!


	4. Shadowing Spirits

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We know it's been ages, but as promised, we are working on updates for all our fics. Enjoy this long awaited update and expect more soon for others.

It was a week and some days since the samurai had last spoken to his shadow, since he’d last felt his skin, but he’d seen him. There were flickers and flashes of unforgettable green eyes and smooth scarred tanned skin in the bustling of the town as he accompanied his master on his business. His shadow was indeed shadowing him. It was both endearing and frustrating. Levi should have taken him out, but he was enjoying the game of tag too much to put an end to it so soon. 

He’d attempted a handful of times to catch the young man, but Eren was skilled at melting into the scenery of the sea of faces teeming the streets on the daily. He was becoming impatient, itching for another chance to capture his shadow, to wrestle his submission from him again. It was satisfying to wage a battle, a scrimmage for dominance in which the victor claimed not only that title, but also something more, something deeper and primal that made the game worth playing at all.

He was wandering on his own this afternoon, alone while his master was indisposed with family and allies. He was happy enough to be left ignorant of the meeting’s details; he hardly wanted to be trapped further by the westerners. And he had much more enjoyable games to be playing than politics. He could feel the assassin’s eyes on him, could smell the scent of him, bittersweet and spicy, vague on the breeze, but there. His shadow was watching him from somewhere in the embrace of his kin. So naive his feisty little shadow was. 

He purposely turned down a dim and empty alleyway, obscured from the view of the human traffic in the streets. Tucked away between the press of two large homes, motionless during the daylight hours and silent while their nocturnal occupants slept, the short samurai meandered lazily as if he hadn’t a concern or care to consider during his leisurely stroll through shadowed paths. He didn’t, was in fact, thrilled, a buzzing heat spreading in tingling currents beneath his skin in anticipation. “Come out come out wherever you are chibikage, my patience is wearing thin,” he breathed near inaudibly. 

"Are you craving the sweet embrace of my body again so soon?" the ninja answered, his breath a whisper on the wind and thrown so that there would be no way to find him unless he wanted to be found. Levi was right, Eren was a shadow and his strength lied in being wrapped in his kin. "Do you have a present for me if I decide to come out?" he asked, his voice a soft giggle on the afternoon breeze.

Levi chuckled breathily, shifted his weight and wet his lips. He’d been leaving dried flowers and candied fruit for his shadow now and again, rewarding him for his cleverness and luring him ever closer, taming him so that he might keep him a little longer. He slid his arms into his kimono sleeves and halted his steps, cocking his head to better listen to the echoing whispers of Eren’s words, the breeze of his movements. “And if I do have such a gift for you?” he called idly, touching at the pronged comb he had tucked within the confines of his kimono, ends weaponized with needled tips, and beautifully decorated, dark pearls, tiger’s eye and jasper to match the earthy tones of his shadow’s eyes.

The sound of clicking wooden sandals came down the cobbled path of the alley, distant but growing louder as a figure approached. It appeared to be a Geisha, with black done up hair and a green traditional kimono with yellow blossoms and a face full of paint. Waving a yellow fan, the figure’s slow gait brought them closer and closer to Levi until unmistakeable green eyes were visible in the shade filled alleyway. Eren's smile held a dangerous tilt and he bowed gracefully to Levi. "Here I am, my lord... How may I be of service?" Eren asked in a seductive whisper, fully immersed in his role as a Geisha.

Dark lashes lowered, hooded mercury crawling over the assassin’s disguise as a slow curl came upon his mouth. “You should have been an actress instead of a shadow,” Levi murmured lowly, reaching to wrap an arm around the young man’s waist and guide him further into the shadows against the wall of the house to his right.”I’ve got something pretty for you,” he breathed against Eren’s ear as he leaned in, backing the younger male against the wall.

"A _good_ shadow has many faces... Which is why you've had such a difficult time catching me these last few days," Eren said with a flirtatious giggle, fanning himself as he allowed the man to back him up against the wall, heat building underneath his skin. If he wasn't wearing such thick facepaint, his blush would have made his entire face red; the assassin was flirting with death and it was the most invigorating. Of course he was still going to carry out his mission, but there was no way to watch Erwin where he was right now, even Levi did not need to protect the man. It was time to take a break from his assassin duties and have some more _fun_. "Have you?" Eren asked breathily cocking his head to the side, hands lifting to smooth over the soft silk of Levi's silk kimono covering his hardened chest, "As pretty as I am?"

"As pretty as you are, you should only accept pretty gifts," the dark-haired samurai replied huskily, reaching into his sleeve for the hairpin before he lifted both hands to arrange it within the darkened strands of pinned hair on the assassin turned geisha's head. "There, it suits you," he said, looking Eren over again appreciatively before he leaned in to press his lips beneath a pale painted ear, "You've made it prettier... Have you finally tired of your games these past days?" His hands began to wander over the obi cinched waist, pawing at the silk and humming his approval low in his throat.

"I'll never tire of my games... We are still playing aren't we?" Eren said, cocking his head to the other side, breath hitching as Levi's hands began to roam his body, "I'm being groped by death itself... I've said it before, but this is the greatest game I've ever played."

"Mm, I'd agree. I've never courted a shadow before; it's reviving," Levi said, lips brushing over Eren's racing pulse, fingers sneaking beneath the folds of fabric in search of smooth, warm skin. Electric arousal sizzled under his skin, adrenaline heating his blood and flushing his pale skin; he felt more alive intimately connected with his enemy than he had most of his life. Like the thrill of battle, but using such different weapons to win the fight for dominance.

"Mmmmm..." Eren hummed, getting caught up in the probing touch of Levi's fingers before he snapped. He grabbed one of Levi's hands in a flurry of movement, then briskly began to drag the man down the alley, completely forgetting that startling death could be... deadly. "Come with me..." he said not even looking back, his sandals clicking loudly in the deserted walkway.

The abrupt movement had Levi's free hand hovering over his blades and his eyes narrowing, but he realized quickly enough that Eren's movement was eager, not hostile. He let the younger man lead him further down the alleyway, keen enough to follow him, recognizing the lust rolling off of the assassin's body to match his own. He obviously was not the only one that had been craving.

Eren didn't even notice the threat that was posed to him, eager to get to his planned destination. He hooked a hard left, leading Levi through a section of alley ways, turning this way and that. In this city, one could get lost in these tunnel like paths, but Eren moved with frighteningly accurate familiarity, knowing every turn by heart. After what seemed like ages, Eren suddenly pulled Levi into the dark alcove of an old, but well-cared for traditional house. With a series of timed knocks, a slot opened in the door, piercing blue eyes seeing who it was, and obviously Eren's green gaze was a pass because the sounds of the door being unlocked were unmistakeable. Pushing his way into the now open door, Eren lead Levi into the darkly lit house. 

On the other side of the door stood the blonde whore Armin looking calm before he noticed who Eren had brought to their safe house. The smaller boy immediately hissed, backing up away from the couple and looking between the two in shock. "E-Eren... W-What... Why did you... He s-shouldn't be here," the kid stuttered, looking around the entrance for a way out. The samurai's presence was ominous and Eren seemed to be the only one comfortable in his company. 

Eren immediately frowned, his entire being aching with need and impatience. "He won't harm you... Well not right now at least..." Eren said, lifting a hand to dig into the opening of his kimono at his chest. He pulled out a heavy bag of coin and tossed it towards the blonde, "For your silence... We will be upstairs in the nice room..." 

"Wait," Armin said, stepping forward, a greedy glint in his eyes, "This is not quite enough..." 

Eren immediately snorted then sighed, laughing at his friends genius. Armin knew he was desperate, so friend or not he would get the best deal for his cooperation. "Fine, take some jewelry... But that is it," he said sternly, stepping towards Armin and lowering his head for the blonde to take his pick of the combs that adorned his wig. Immediately, Armin went for the hairpin Levi had just given him, eyes narrowing on the black shiny pearls and inlaid gemstones, clearly worth more than a few yen. He was just about to pluck it from Eren's head before the assassin’s hand darted out and gripped Armin’s tightly. "Not that one. Choose another..." Eren said darkly, giving Armin’s wrist a little squeeze before he finally let go. The blonde huffed angrily before he chose a different boggle then backed away, retreating farther into the house and away from the two dangerous figures. 

Eren stood up straight and smiled back at Levi, "There now we will have privacy to play some more," he said, giving Levi's hand a squeeze before he led the man upstairs and into a bright and spacious traditional room.

The samurai ducked his head, hiding a prideful smile on his mouth when Eren defended the gift he'd given him from the greedy hands of the blonde consort before he was dragging Levi off up a set of stairs to a secluded and private room. He didn't bother hiding then as the slow smirk spread over his pale lips and he pressed in against the other male again, eagerly tugging at the ninja's clothing, loosing the obi at his waist with familiar ease. He pulled at the silk suddenly, spinning Eren across the lacquered flooring, gathering it in his hands as he followed after him. 

He let the material pool at their feet as his hands immediately slipped through the open kimono and groped at Eren's skin. "I've been curious these past few days, wondering if the rest of you tastes as sweet as your mouth. Shall I find out?" He murmured silkily, leaning in to mouth at Eren's lithe chest.

Eren did nothing to stop Levi from undressing him, allowing himself to be spun through the room with a laugh. As Levi mouthed at his chest, the silken sleeves of the kimono and then his hiyoku slowly slid off his shoulders to pool at his feet, bearing his skin to the man once again along with his plethora of weapons that rarely left his body. Eren began to tug at the strings keeping Levi's kimono on as well, desperate to see his milky white skin. "Yes..." the assassin breathed, nosing into Levi's black hair and smudging his face paint, "It's been so difficult... I need you..." There was a whine in Eren's voice, his green eyes honest and desperate, trying not to examine the deeper connotations of his words and almost unaware he’d spoken them. Every time Levi tried to catch him, every time he left presents, every time Eren noticed the man search for him in the crowd; Eren was becoming obsessed. He was being blinded from his mission, too busy drowning in mercury eyes. At some level, he knew he needed to pull away, but not yet; just a little more. Eren needed to sate his desire for the man or else he would be burned alive from within.

The dull thuds and clangs of weaponry falling to the floor could be heard as Levi’s nimble fingers swiftly divested the assassin of his relative arsenal while Eren did the same, agile, long tanned digits freeing knots and pushing aside fabric to get to the pale skin of the legendary samurai beneath. Levi growled gutturally in response to Eren’s declaration, his groping touch turning possessive, rough and bruising. He nipped at painted skin, grumbling his displeasure at the chalky taste that was not at all the one he’d have liked. 

There was skin free of make up lower and so he made his way there between heavy kisses and firm caresses. Sinking to his knees in the mingled pool of silk around their feet before the assassin, Levi’s palms settled on Eren’s hips, fingers wrapping around to knead at the toned roundness of his behind. Slitted and dark smoldering mercury glimmered beneath the fringe of sooty lashes as Levi looked up to watch Eren’s face while he leaned forward to have a taste, winding a teasing trail with his tongue along the crease of one thigh to the underside of the assassin’s straining cock, humming low in appreciation.

"O-Oh..." Eren gasped, knees trembling and hands gripping Levi's shoulders to keep himself steady. He had not expected Levi to get on his knees before him, thought it beneath the man. But there Levi was before him, looking up at Eren like he might devour him whole, and he was completely put under his spell. Suddenly the room became hot. He lifted one hand to remove his present from his hair then ripped off the black wig and chucked it across the room. He shook out his slightly damp and mussed chocolate locks then replaced the comb with a shaking hand. Eren then grabbed Levi's hands to rub them all over his body, shuddering with ecstasy. "Yours..." he said with a dazed smile, green eyes smoldering before he seemed to come back to himself more and stuttered out an added, "F-For now..." He bit his lip as he realized his fantasies were mixing with his reality. After this, he really needed to regain his focus. After this... Just a little more.

"We'll see... I may just decide to keep you my little shadow," Levi murmured, pulling back and licking his lips before he was leaning in again, breath teasing over damp and throbbing flesh. Using the grip he had on Eren's hips to steady and support him, Levi ducked his head, lapped a thick trail from base to tip, running his tongue beneath the ridge almost curiously. He couldn't say he was particularly practiced in this act, but he'd been the recipient enough times to have a pretty good idea of what to do. He wasn't clumsy in his inexperience, slower, curious and intrigued, exploring torturously with tongue and lips. Sucking the head of Eren's length between his lips and curling his tongue along the underside, teeth lightly grazing, ever taunting as he drew more of the other male into his mouth and moaned at the bittersweet saltiness that was all Eren. 

Eren's flavour was a heady rush, like Opium, euphoric and addictive. It set Levi's skin on fire, ignited in his belly and alighted his nerves with lust and possession, thrilling with the surging of quicksilver adrenaline in his blood; _dangerous_... Eren was dangerous, fatally beautiful, sinfully manipulative, full of sly wit and coy pleas; a shadow to suit a ghost. He was beginning to hope the day their game came to an end would never arrive. It'd be such a shame to end him.

Eren's breath hitched and he whimpered at Levi's ministration. It felt so good, even though it was slow and torturous. He was becoming putty in Levi's hands and soon he couldn't hold himself up anymore. Pulling himself from the man's mouth, he collapsed down onto the floor, knees spread and panting hard, leaning back on his elbows before Levi. "S-Sorry... Feels too good... You're making me weak... We shouldn't even be doing this..." Eren said, chest rising and falling, looking completely wrecked with smeared make up and flushed shining skin.

Levi sat back on his heels, looking Eren over as he sprawled before him, debauched and imperfected and it stirred the samurai up further. He ran his hands up the insides of Eren's thighs, widening them, stretching flexible limbs as far as they would reach, palms slipping to cup the backs of Eren's knees to hold his position as Levi hovered over him. "Perhaps, but it's too late to stop now pretty little shadow, see the game to its end with me," he murmured, lips pressing along the inside of one golden thigh, roughly working their way back to where Eren was desperate for them, sucking marks and worrying flesh with his teeth, bruising, marking, branding. 

"You taste like sin," he growled silkily, nosing along Eren's cock and flickering his tongue over heated skin teasingly, releasing the grip of one hand to grope up Eren's torso to his mouth, pressing two pale digits insistently against his lips, until Eren drew them inside.

Eren immediately sucked in the fingers, hips twitching and green eyes rolling back in his head. He was making debauched noises around Levi's fingers, tongue swirling and breathing harshly through his nose as the samurai sucked him off. He was reaching his peak surprisingly quick, their week long foreplay taking its toll, managing to mewl in warning.

Levi bobbed his head, increasing the suction as he moved, brow furrowed and beaded in sweat as he concentrated on maintaining his breath and controlling the instinctive desire to gag when Eren's tip brushed the back of his throat. He'd never been so grateful to have such discipline over his body's needs as he did then. His fingers slipped from Eren's mouth and wetly down his neck, smearing the makeup further before they wrapped around his throat with even pressure, nothing sinister, but a compelling and thrilling threat. He could already feel Eren's muscles tensing, growing taut in preparation, his cock throbbing angrily and hot in Levi's mouth, on the edge of a different sort of death.

As soon as Levi removed his fingers Eren cried out, "Yes! Yes, yes, yes... Ah!" He couldn't help the rolling thrusts he made into Levi's hot and wet mouth until his hips stuttered and his climax hit him like a fist. Shooting hard deep down Levi's throat, Eren screamed with pleasure, fingers digging into Levi's shoulders as his body shook and he rode out his orgasm.

Levi struggled to keep his eyes open, the mercury slitted and glinting between the tangle of dark lashes as he watched Eren reach his peak, throat bobbing as he reflexively swallowed the onslaught of bitter release. He made another guttural sound between a growl and a purr of satisfaction as he pulled away reluctantly, freeing the assassin's flagging erection from the moist confines of his mouth. His hands loosed their grips and stroked over Eren's sides repeatedly, reveling in the shuddering aftershocks that wracked through the younger man and he watched him, a better view from where he hovered over him now, so close, it wouldn't take much to kiss him. He traced the fine lines of his face, the red stained and parted, panting lips, the dark caress of inked lashes against chalk streaked and handsomely flushed caramel. 

"Beautiful," breathed from his own lips, fell from his tongue before he could swallow it, but it wasn't a lie and what matter was there in the complement. Levi had murdered beautiful things before... Not that he'd ever found any of them as captivating and exquisite as his shadow.

"Mmm," Eren hummed in answer, still shuddering every so often in pleasure aftershocks. He collapsed back against the floor, knees straightening as he reached for Levi, beckoning him closer in the haze of his bliss.

The raven samurai allowed Eren to draw him in, buried his face in the damp, mussed chestnut locks on the assassin's head and inhaled deeply, ignoring the insistent ache between his thighs and the unsated buzzing in his blood. They hadn't time for all he wanted from the younger male. It would be enough until they could meet again at an hour and place where he could take his time with Eren, to learn the secrets his skin held and stories of his scars. 

He pressed his mouth behind Eren's ear, holding him tighter than was necessary, but neither of them made mention of it. "I'm afraid I can't stay longer, but I don't have the patience to wait so long again," he murmured huskily, voice roughened and smoky with desire, "Meet me again tonight. The Northernmost room; there will be no others to delay you so long as you don't stray."

Eren opened his eyes immediately, holding onto Levi like he wouldn't let go. "Stay... Your master has no need of you... He's mine to kill, I've made it known..." Eren said, hands petting up and down Levi's silky back, "If I'm here with you, I'm not out trying to kill him... Stay with me."

"Would that I could chibikage," he replied breathily, arching beneath Eren's touch and releasing a harsh breath, "I can only spare a few moments more. I've wandered a ways from where I'm expected and I've no desire to listen to my master's simpering chastisement should he be kept waiting for my arrival."

Eren's brows furrowed as a growl sounded in the back of his throat. Immediately the dazed and affectionate look was gone and his green eyes turned guarded and cold. He pushed the samurai off of him and sat up to turn his back to the man. "Fine. Leave," Eren said darkly, grabbing the silken kimono to slip back onto his naked shoulders, clearly angry.

Levi hissed, but backed off, immediately beginning to redress as well. He was silent as he retied the ties of his apparel. He straightened the sleeves of his kimono, watching Eren's rigid back and sighed heavily. He situated is daisho and turned towards the door. He paused, one hand poised on the frame and glanced back over his shoulder. "Offer still stands. I'll be waiting," he said in parting before he was gone, as silent as his namesake and cursing the ingrained sense of honour and duty in him.

Eren paced his room like a caged animal for the rest of the day, rage boiling in his blood. Levi said he wanted him, they barely even had time to savour each other and he left. The ninja should just stay put. Make him wait all night. Make him suffer. But of course deep within him there was a part that was screaming at him to go.

Watching the sunset from his window, Eren tallied the pros and cons, then realized that Levi would grant him access to the castle. He did say he couldn't wander, but maybe if Eren became a frequent night visitor, the samurai would grow complacent, leaving Eren an opening to dispose of Levi's master. Then the man would also be free to do whatever, whenever and that suited the ninja just fine. 

Once Eren's decision was made, he didn't rush. Going to the courtyard of the house to wash his body at the well. He needed to get the icky face paint off and cleanse his body from the day's sweat. Even after he bathed, he took quite some time to strap his weapons to his body then adorn his black clothing so that he could move undetected through the black of night. He even eyed the comb and fastened it in his hair before he covered his face so that only his eyes were visible then bolted into the night making his way to his new lover. He wondered if Levi continued to wait so long into the night for him, or did the samurai give up and go to sleep? Eren guessed he would find out when he got there.


	5. Secret's in the Telling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! We're slowly working our way through updating all our fics and this one just so happened to come out first in between working on other projects. So Enjoy!

Levi was seated in the open door to the courtyard, propped back against it heavily in a loosely tied kimono. His katana was next to him, a mere whisper from his fingertips and his eyes were closed, head tilted back as if soaking up the moonlight, dying his skin in ethereal paleness. He looked every bit the warrior spirit of legend as he sat motionless there, one knee bent and playing the role of perch for his other arm while his other leg stretched before him, braced against the opposing frame lazily. He appeared asleep, but he was awake and listening. He rarely slept more than a few hours on any given night, so unused to rest with the life he’d lead. It was better to rest with both eyes open and a weapon at your side.

He smelled him before he heard the hiss of his shadow’s movements on clay tiling and lacquered wood. He could smell Eren’s bittersweet dangerous scent and licked his lips as if he could taste him on the breeze. Levi didn’t move, didn’t even open his eyes, listening and waiting, curious to see what his shadow would do when he revealed himself.

Stepping silently towards Levi, wrapped in the night, Eren crouched behind the man before he pressed a dagger to Levi’s pale exposed throat. "You angered me earlier... I should have left you to wait forever," Eren hissed into Levi's ear.

Levi's throat bobbed just under the blade and he let out a slow exhale from his nose. "Should have, but did not," the samurai replied, his eyes still serenely shut. His fingers twitched both over his sword and over his bent knee, itching to counterattack while the hostile lust simmering under his skin was surging back up with urgency after being denied and taunted for days. He ached to sink his fingers into Eren's hair and take his mouth, unconcerned with the kiss of the ninja's blade when he could have his lips instead.

For a few tense moments Eren held the blade steady at Levi's throat, and it was like the whole world was still, holding its breath to see what Eren would do. Removing the blade, Eren stood up, spinning the dagger before he sheathed it back at his hip, crossing his arms and glaring down at Levi. "True... Make it worth my while," he commanded, itching with irritation and impatience.

Dark lashes finally fluttered open halfway, the irises slivered mercury nearly consumed by hungrily dilated pupils. Levi was silent for several long seconds, simply drinking in the sight Eren made before him. He pushed himself to his feet abruptly, the movement graceful even in its unexpected haste, hands seeking immediate connection with the lithe young man's shadow encased body, pulling him in, luring him as Levi lunged for his mouth, kissing him aggressively, possessive and demanding. He was already plucking at Eren's clothing, his own askew and haphazardly providing modesty to his waking manhood. Levi was subtly leading Eren towards the plush futon that was his bed, hoping to have him bare in his bedding by the time they finally reached the destination.

Eren bit back against Levi's mouth, fighting the man’s every move and making it way more difficult than it could be. No, he wasn't going to be submissive and vulnerable like he was this afternoon; Levi would need to work for it for spurning him. "So you want to dominate me? Does it feel good? To master something so deadly?" he hissed against Levi's mouth, his fingers digging into the silk of Levi's kimono and tearing where they grasped.

“Mm, it’s as close to living as a ghost can be. Keep fighting me little shadow, only makes me want to hold you tighter,” the samurai murmured gutturally in response, uncaring as the seams of his kimono came apart under the pressure of Eren’s grip, revelling in the fire the ninja seemed to have in endless supply. He was tearing at Eren’s clothing now, viciously freeing the caramel skin beneath while trying to keep a firm hold on the younger male.

While Levi was distracted with tearing Eren's clothing off, Eren tangled their legs together and tripped the man so that they both fell into Levi's futon, with Eren on top. He wasted little time in straddling Levi's hips, rolling his ass over the man's erection as his fingers delved into his wide open kimono, digging his fingernails into the skin of his chest. "If I stop fighting you, then I'm dead," Eren said, throwing his black shirt off. Again his arsenal of weapons were strapped to his body. He wasn't even sure why he wore them when he knew they would be thrown aside but it was a habit born from years of training. 

Eren’s movements were filled with haste as he began the task of removing them, his eyes never straying from Levi's almost ethereal appearance. He was stricken by how ghostly, but beautiful the man was, his entire aura radiating danger. Eren sighed to himself, his green gaze lifting to the ceiling. “I must have a death wish getting so close to you... You're going to run me through one of these days instead of fuck me..." he whined before leaning forward to stare deeply into Levi's eyes, "Do you want to take my life?"

"I take no pleasure in the idea of it, not now and not if it should come to be necessary. It'd be a shame to snuff out your flames, pretty thing," Levi said, watching Eren from hooded mercury, hands firmly kneading at Eren's hips with appreciation. "Perhaps you'll take mine before I have the chance…” he added, lips curling into a teasing smirk, “I could think of worse deaths… Would you mourn for me?" Levi didn’t wait for Eren’s answer, beginning to rock his hips upwards to rut against Eren's backside as hard as possible with every downward drive of the assassin. In another life, they might not be enemies; if Levi was a less honourable man, he could see himself surrendering his master to keep his precious shadow. Or, Eren would succeed in some way without either of their deaths in future; he was perhaps jaded and cynical, but realistic. For now, he'd live for the moments in between where they were together as creatures seeking the same ends, sating vicious primal needs and nothing further. His master had no place in his bed, but Eren did.

A smirk formed on Eren’s mouth to mirror Levi’s before he bit his bottom lip. “I’d mourn the loss of your cock… You can’t fuck me when you’re dead,” he cooed, one hand dropping down to palm Levi’s erection while the other reached behind himself to finger his opening. His fingers made loud squelching sounds as he pleasured himself, revealing that the ninja had prepared in advance for this encounter and had never intended on slitting Levi’s throat. 

Eren’s head fell back as his eyes fluttered closed, little whimpers escaping his throat with every roll of his pelvis over Levi’s lap. “I want… I want you to fuck me until day break… I want you to never deny me again…” he breathed before one eye opened to glare down at Levi in challenge, “I want you to _break_ me…” 

“Mm what a bold request,” Levi replied, sliding sword-calloused palms up the other male’s sides with rough firmness, tracing Eren’s ribs with his thumbs until he reached his nipples. “And who says I couldn’t fuck you when I’m dead? I’d come back to haunt you just for that,” he continued, a subtle smirk ghosting over his lips as his gaze ran over the ninja’s body covetously. One of his hands snaked up further, caressing collarbone and curling around the back of the other man’s neck, fisting in the soft strands of chestnut at his nape, He abruptly flipped their positions, forcing Eren to abandon pleasuring himself as he pinned him beneath his weight. He ran his tongue across the top row of his teeth predatorily as he pulled at Eren’s hair, forcing his head back and displaying the enticing caramel column of his throat where his pulse beat, and he ground his already eager and stiff cock between the vaguely slick cheeks of the youth’s rear, taunting against the twitching entrance there.

He bowed over the other male, nose brushing along the soft skin of his throat, inhaling the scent of him and breathing over his pulse. “I’ve dreamt of this, of you here in my bed,” he nipped under Eren’s ear and wound his tongue along the corded muscle of his neck, hot breath washing over the dampened flesh as he exhaled harshly, “You’ll be feeling me inside for days after. I’m going to wreck you little shadow.” 

Eren hissed at the teasing nip of teeth on his neck and his back arched off the futon; Levi’s words forcing a wave of pleasure to course through his body in anticipation. Reaching down once more, Eren shifted so that he could wiggle his hand between their bodies then plunge his fingers into his hole to pull something out with a gasp. In his hand a smooth jade stone in the shape of a phallic plug was revealed, glistening with oil as Eren held it up for Levi to inspect it. Eren often used the stone to pleasure himself, however, it was also a trick to stay loose and forego the need for foreplay when partnered with someone as well endowed as Levi. “After our last coupling… I knew to come… _prepared,_ ” Eren breathed in explanation, unable to hide his enthusiasm any longer; the cold hard indifference in his eyes replaced once again with warm affection. He was finally submitting his body to Levi, not fighting his every move and punishing the man for leaving him earlier. “Make me yours again,” commanded Eren, looking up at Levi through cinnamon lashes with a coy smile, squirming underneath the man, completely naked except for the comb in his hair that Levi had gifted to him. 

The samurai raised one finely shaped charcoal brow as he looked at the cloudy jade stone Eren had withdrawn from his body and smirked, the slow curl to his lips something devilish and sinful to accompany the breathy chuckle that followed. How thoughtful the little nymph was… “Oh love, didn’t you know, you’ve been mine from the moment our eyes met?” he murmured silkily in response to Eren’s demand, one hand slipping between the press of their bodies to pull the knot at his waist free, letting his kimono fall open fully and slide from his shoulders to reveal the pale, scarred nakedness beneath. He gave his cock a few lazy strokes as he leaned back in over the ninja, watching him squirm and admiring the smoothness of his caramel skin over the shifting of lithe and lethal muscle beneath. He looked so lovely, bare save for the trinket Levi’d given to him; it really was so suiting. 

He didn’t waste more than a few heated and harsh breaths before he surrendered the grip on his cock and gripped Eren’s thighs instead, hitching Eren’s legs up and impaling him in one fell swoop. Levi growled lowly as he sank inside the slick heat, folding the pliable young man beneath him and taking his mouth in an almost vicious kiss as he began to thrust in smooth motions, pulling out slowly before roughly plunging back inside.

Eren’s squeals of pleasure were swallowed by Levi’s aggressive kisses, the jade stone dropping to the floor with a thud, abandoned for Eren’s hands to fly up and grip the samurai’s muscular back. The stretch was still painful even though he had thoroughly prepared himself, but the ninja didn’t mind; always enjoying a little pain with his pleasure. Eren’s legs wrapped around Levi’s hips, digging his heels into the samurai’s ass to urge him to thrust deeper as his nails began to draw thin lines of blood down Levi’s back. He even began to suck on Levi’s tongue, savouring the taste of the samurai’s mouth before ripping them apart. “If I was-… yours… You should have torn off my yukata and fucked me raw, right in front of your master when our eyes met… on that first night… Oh _Kami-sama_... You should have claimed me then… made me your whore,” Eren moaned his filth, revealing his dark thoughts to his lover. He would regret telling Levi how much he desired the samurai, but his mind was too clouded with lust to care if he was giving Levi the upper hand. 

Levi hummed gutturally, nibbling along Eren’s jaw as he listened to the debauched admissions from the younger man. “Mmn, I could have, but the chase makes the capture that much sweeter. And you are such sweet prey, little shadow,” he whispered huskily, breath stirring against the fine hairs around Eren’s ear before his tongue traced the shell teasingly. His fingers gripped Eren’s hips bruisingly and he shifted his knees, repositioning his angle to drive his cock inside the ninja even deeper, forcefully assaulting the sensitive bundle hidden within the depths of his body.

A snarl instantly replaced the affectionate smile on Eren’s lips, equating being called prey to being called weak. He arched his back and flipped them, rolling on top of Levi to straddle his hips and began to ride his cock hard, gaining the upper hand. The assassin ripped the needle pointed comb out of his hair to press to Levi’s throat, but did not slow the pace of his hips, slamming Levi’s cock further and further inside him. “You will not insult me while fucking me…” Eren hissed through a clenched jaw, though his body language held no anger at all, back curving in ecstasy and his delicate channel rippling around Levi’s cock, sucking the length in even deeper. He was even shaking with pleasure, listening to the sound of his ass slapping against Levi’s thighs while he bit his bottom lip hard, trying to stifle the whimpers and moans threatening to spill from his mouth. Eren was too proud to give in to pleasure when Levi had insinuated he was easy prey. 

Levi's eyes narrowed and dilated swiftly, thrilled by the abrupt shift in the ninja. He tilted his head to the side, arching into the sharp press of the hairpin and licking his lips as he watched Eren atop him. He palmed his hips and sides appreciatively as his pulse quickened; there was so little that could catch his breath and make his heart stutter. “I hadn't meant it as an insult, pretty. I should say, you're the only prey worth chasing since we're both predators in this little game of ours,” he amended breathily, one hand crawling up Eren's chest to his throat. His fingers curled around the column, firm enough to make the ninja's heart flutter beneath his thumb, but with no real intent to elicit pain, rolling his hips up into every heavy downward press of Eren's ass. He bent his knees and planted his feet firmly into the bedding for leverage then he moved to meet the brunette with as much ferocity as Eren was impaling himself, eagerly chasing both their ends.

Eren’s eyes widened then his lips curled in a smirk at Levi’s admission, satisfied with the explanation but not removing the comb pressed to Levi’s neck, drawing little drops of blood where it nicked the pale skin. The samurai seemed to be aroused by the danger of putting his life in Eren’s hands and trusting the ninja not to kill him; who was Eren to deny Levi his pleasure? Besides, Eren was too focused on the pressure on his own throat, a heady moan escaping his lips when his pulse point was squeezed. He couldn’t stop his eyes from rolling back into his head while his hips began to jerk erratically. “I’m… I’m close,” he cried out, the only warning he could give before he came hard, covering Levi’s torso in thick white ropes of seed, hips still bucking on the samurai’s hot and pulsing cock. 

Levi growled his pleasure as Eren’s body clamped down spasmodically as the ninja found his release, electricity sparking in hot pulses beneath the samurai’s flushed skin as he felt the bloodied tears winding ticklish paths down his neck and collar from the sharp bite of the pronged comb. His own peak was swiftly approaching so he abruptly flipped their positions again, pinning Eren with his respective grips and unconcerned by the dangerous caress of the hairpin at his own throat as he sank brutally inside the rippling heat, grunting and hissing. It was no more than a handful of harsh, deep and quick thrusts before he stiffened, snarling as his climax crashed over him in heady waves, filling the ninja with the warmth of his release as he left a vicious and possessive lovebite on Eren’s shoulder, drawing blood as surely as the ninja had drawn his. It was only fair.

Beneath the samurai, Eren was a complete mess, cheeks flushed and skin shining from sweat, a look of pure euphoria on his face even though he was pinned in a very uncomfortable position. His eventual fall from the heavens was gradual, coming back to himself slowly as his hands broke free, dropping the comb then to instead rub them up and down Levi’s back, the motion filled with tender feelings of affection. In these quiet moments after the adrenaline from being with Levi wore out, he was able to relax and pretend that they weren’t enemies. They were reduced to being just lovers, basking in the warmth of each other’s body heat. That’s how Eren felt anyway; he wasn’t quite sure how Levi felt. 

As both of their breaths evened out, Eren opened his eyes halfway to gaze at Levi before he lifted his head to give the samurai a tender and slow kiss. It had none of the bite their usual kisses contained, filled with affection instead of desire. Maybe the samurai had managed to tame a shadow, Eren wondered to himself. That thought alone should have been forcing the assassin into a panic, throwing Levi off of him and escaping from such feelings. Instead, Eren just wrapped his arms around Levi even tighter, nuzzling into the older man and never wanting to leave his comforting embrace. “You smell good…” Eren breathed from where he was tucked into Levi’s neck, voice quiet and soft.

Levi kissed Eren back, not at all shy about his affections. It was a rare occasion he was allowed such freedoms and for the moment, he was _off-duty_. For the moment, they were simply lovers and he was not in the habit of squandering such moments when there were so few and none that he could recall quite like the ones he shared with the ninja. He hummed, relenting his grip, gentling his touch as he kneaded at the other male’s flesh, his flagging erection slipping from inside Eren with a muted squelch as he returned the ninja’s affection without hesitation. “Mmn, I thought I smelled like death,” he replied in a low, gravelly amused tone, pressing his mouth against the damp and vaguely curling strands of Eren’s hair as the youth nuzzled against his throat. 

He could feel their sweat and cum cooling between them, uncomfortable and itchy now that their passion was spent. He shifted his weight off of the other male, looking down at him fondly despite the stickiness on their skin. “Do you plan to stay a while?” he asked, curious and not at all inclined to kick the ninja out if he planned to stay.

“You do… It’s fragrant… Like the scent of a poisonous flower…” Eren explained, shifting onto his stomach to look up at Levi coyly. “I’m in no hurry to leave,” he added, lowering his face for a moment to hide the blush that was now creeping over his cheeks. It wasn’t long before Eren lifted his gaze with a smirk. “Is that all you got?” Eren asked tauntingly, his green eyes blazing with challenge. “That’s too bad… I expected more from the Ginchinmoku… Maybe you’re just too old to keep up with me,” he wondered aloud, rotating his hips to arch his back and stick out his ass. “I thought you were going to _make me feel you for days_... And _wreck_ me…” Eren goaded, throwing Levi’s previous words back at the samurai. 

The samurai chuckled huskily, reaching up to card his fingers through Eren’s tangled hair and trace down the dip of his spine. “You misunderstood if you thought I was done with you pretty. I just wanted to be sure you had nowhere else to be. Thought you might be interested in a dip in my private hotspring,” he said nonchalantly, lowering his lashes coyly, watching pearly rivulets of his semen trekking languidly down the backs of Eren’s thighs. As he spoke, he trailed a single fingertip over each vertebrae until he rubbed the calloused pad in tight, ticklish little circles over the divot of Eren’s tailbone, reveling in the shiver he felt run through the other male. He leaned over to replace it with his lips some seconds later, murmuring warmly against the sensitive, salty, sweet skin, “We can continue there. Would you like that _chibikage_?” 

Eren froze for a moment, completely still as he processed Levi’s words, then turned into a blur of movement, sitting up to tackle Levi into the padded floor. “I would love it!” Eren squeaked between excited giggles, rubbing his face into Levi’s and peppering the man's face with kisses. He was a ball of eagerness as he pulled back to look in Levi’s eyes and said, “You made a mess of me! You better take responsibility and wash my entire body!” His command was clearly in jest since being covered in Levi’s release was deeply satisfying. However, Eren knew he would also love to be pampered by Levi, taming a ghost into serving a shadow; a feat he thought would be impossible. 

Levi cocked his head, watching the ninja through hooded lashes, endeared by his enthusiasm and amused by his demands. He reached to cup the side of Eren’s throat with one hand, thumbing over the marked hollow of his collar appreciatively as he replied, “It would be my pleasure and yours, pretty.” He smiled roguishly at the ninja, admiring him for another long moment before he moved to get up, offering Eren a hand up as well, swooping in to pick him up as soon as the other man reached to take it. Low laughter escaped him as he hoisted the brunette into his arms with little effort, kissing and nipping at him playfully. It was so refreshing to simply play lovers without duty or loyalty or death between them, just Levi and Eren, not shinobi or samurai, assassin or mercenary, just lovers in the dark.

Eren laughed along with Levi, his whole body trembling through the giggles, trying not to squirm too much so that he wouldn’t be dropped. He even cuddled up to Levi, tucking his head under Levi’s chin and pressing his ear to the firm but smooth skin of Levi’s chest to listen to the samurai’s heartbeat. The ninja could not understand the emotions that were swirling around in his head and heart. Eren had never trusted anyone other than his family and was taught throughout his entire life that he must be the first to strike to protect himself. He didn’t realize that that particular lesson was applicable to so much more than just physical fights. He had never allowed himself to be so open and vulnerable, until now. Until he’d met his match. 

Looking up at Levi with green eyes sparkling in the moonlight, Eren realized the shadow had somehow fallen in love with the ghost. He also realized the ghost could never know. No, that would be Eren’s demise, for Levi was still his enemy but now he was also his greatest weakness. As Eren was lost to his thoughts, his hand lifted to start running his fingers through the soft longer strands of Levi’s undercut, unaware of his affectionate petting. Eren couldn’t seem to stop himself. 

Levi tilted his head into the touch, finding it soothing as Eren’s nimble fingers combed through the vaguely salt-stiffened strands of his dark hair. He half smiled at him as he carried the younger man out the far door of his current lodging to the outdoor spring that came with the private home he’d been allotted by his employer. It was not large, but neither was it small, plenty spacious enough for he and his guest and secluded, surrounded by smooth, rocky ledges and thick foliage, the flowering plants giving off a pleasant fragrance and adding to the overall loveliness that had been the main reason Levi had decided upon this particular home when Erwin had given him the choice of available spaces. The steam from the spring curled through the air in a fine mist, the stars and moon overhead reflected upon the lazy ripples of the water as he stepped down the naturally formed stone steps into the heated liquid, glad that he had chosen this home located on the outskirts of the property where they would have privacy. 

“I never considered that I might have company here like this when I chose this place,” he said idly as he waded further into the water, keeping ahold of the ninja even as the water lapped up around the both of them, “But I can’t say I’m disappointed. I couldn’t have asked for better.”

Eren’s eyes fluttered closed with a sigh, his body half floating in the water, half held up by Levi. “It’s… very pleasant,” Eren said, relaxing his tense and sore muscles one bit at a time. He tipped his head back to wet his hair, then lifted back up again, wiping excess water off of his face before he gave Levi a dazzling smile. “I’ve never been to a private hot spring before,” he continued, looking away with a blush of embarrassment, “Only public bath houses… I have been invited before, but only by nobles who thought I was a whore when shadowing targets at brothels with Armin.” Eren glanced back at Levi for a moment trying to judge the samurai’s reaction before his eyes continued to wander their surroundings instead. “Their offers were tempting, I’ll admit,” he added before his face scrunched up in disgust, “But being taken by some old ugly lord would probably ruin the experience… So I’ve always declined.” After a few moments of silence, Eren lifted his eyes to meet Levi’s steely gaze, but his smile was sheepish, tongue tied as he tried to figure out what exactly he wanted to say. “I’m glad I refused them… I’m happy you brought me here,” Eren finally said, looking up at Levi through his long cinnamon eyelashes. 

Levi ran a wet hand through Eren’s hair, peering down at him with invested interest. “Is that so chibikage? You’d be wasted as a whore for old men and pompous lords like my master. Men like them don’t deserve to touch your skin or to know its taste. You’re too pretty and too dangerous… But not for a ghost like me,” he replied in a deep, silky tone, lazily running his fingertips over Eren’s skin beneath the water’s surface, cleaning away the remnants of their sweat and semen tenderly, the touch appreciative and wanting, “You could belong to me if you wanted…” And why not? His loyalty to Erwin was only duty, born out of necessity, betrayal and blackmail. If Erwin should die, if Eren or anyone else should manage to kill him, Levi would have no reason to remain. After all, his uncle would eventually come for him one way or another. Why not keep the ninja while he was willing?

When Levi’s lips formed the offer, Eren shot upwards to straddle Levi’s lap while the palms of his hands held Levi’s cheeks to keep his head in place. Eren’s pupils were fully dilated as he looked down at Levi, their faces only centimetres away. “You mean it?” he asked with barely contained excitement, “You will allow me to kill Erwin so we can be together?” Eren’s smile was so bright and filled with joy that it lit up the shadows of the hot spring in a way that rivalled the sun. But it was almost too bright, revealing the feelings Eren had for Levi that he knew he shouldn’t. In one smile, Eren had laid himself bare in front of the samurai in a way that transcended nudity, uncovering the depths of his heart. Eren had wanted to keep these feelings locked away deep inside himself where they could never be used to hurt him, but one statement from Levi made them break free like a flood and Eren couldn’t stop them now that they were out in the open. 

Levi’s hands found purchase on the ninja’s hips, kneading at the muscle and bone as he watched the younger man, not pulling away from the hold Eren had on his face. “I wouldn’t say I’ll _allow_ you to kill my master because I cannot , though I have no love for the man, but should the opportunity present itself to you, should you manage to kill him, I will have no more ties to bind me to his family or this place… Let’s call it _incentive_ chibikage,” he said with a half-smile and mischief in his glacial eyes as he rolled his hips up against the press of Eren’s grinding his already renewed arousal between the firm-plush cheeks of the brunette’s backside, “I’d very much like to be bested by you.”

Eren’s eyes narrowed in confusion, still holding Levi’s gaze as he processed the samurai’s words, his dazzling smile fading until only a pout remained. “You are still going fight me…” Eren stated, hands falling from Levi’s cheeks so that he could cross his arms over his chest and ass lowering so that he was perched on the samurai’s knees. His pout soon scrunched into a scowl, and Eren turned his face away in embarrassment, cursing himself for allowing Levi a glimpse of his true feelings. He’d tried to be honest with the man, but Levi was only interested in the game which made Eren look like a fool for trying to be serious. The ninja was starting to inch away, eyes locked on the exit, but Levi only strengthened his grip on Eren’s hips, preventing the young man's escape. 

The samurai’s eyes softened and he raised one hand to cup Eren’s cheek and turn his face back to meet his gaze. “Do not think that I do not see or hear your disappointment or your sincerity. Do not think that this game we’ve been playing means so little to me. I am captivated. _You_ have captivated me Eren…” he paused, wetting his lips, considering his words carefully, “I am a man of my word and I am bound to it. Would you truly call it a victory if I should simply stand aside?” His hand slid along Eren’s jaw to his throat and around to curl around his nape, drawing the reluctant young man in to press their foreheads against one another, “I will keep you one way or another pretty, but nothing worth anything comes without a cost. I will give you my word that I will not end you even if we should face each other as enemies again. It was a lonely and empty life before you came crashing vibrantly into it and I would not care to return to such an existence. Duty or not, my master is not worth your life.”

Eren fought Levi’s hold for only a moment, resisting the gentle press on his cheek that implored the assassin to meet the samurai’s gaze. It wasn’t until Levi gave his word not to kill Eren, did green eyes meet stormy grey, wide with shock. Lowering his head to look up at Levi through his lashes, Eren bit his lip, suddenly shy and overwhelmed. It was easier to pretend that their interest was only a part of an amusing game, but now there was nothing to hide behind since they’d both admitted there was something more between them. “That is the difference between assassin and samurai,” Eren said, his suppressed smile finally breaking through before he pressed a warm kiss to Levi’s lips, “I claim victory as long as my target is dead and I’m still alive… I do not live by the same moral code as you…” Eren tasted Levi’s lips a few more times as he moved forward to press their bodies flush together. “What is worth my life then?” he asked, nosing along Levi’s jaw before he started pressing kisses to the soft skin behind Levi’s ear. 

The raven shifted under the ninja, returning the kisses fervently and rumbling his appreciation low in his chest as Eren mouthed behind his ear. “It might be too early to say for certain, but it may just be worth more than my own chibikage,” he answered, voice huskier than it had been as he ran the fingers of his one hand up through the darkened chestnut strands at the back of Eren’s head, tangling them there as the other slid to the small of the other man’s back, drawing them flush with one another, fitting together like a matched pair, two sides of a coin that had been flipped in an unexpected, but oddly enough not unwelcome bit of fate.

Eren arched his back under Levi’s touch and began using his teeth to nibble marks into the sensitive skin of the samurai’s neck. “You say you want to keep me…” Eren breathed into Levi’s ear then licked a trail up the shell, “How will a ghost tempt a shadow to stay by his side?” His voice was teasing and mischievous, wondering what kind of games they would play in the warm waters of the hot spring. 

One of the samurai’s hands slipped down from Eren’s back to palm his rear as his expression shifted to something more predatory and heated once more. “I have some ideas,” he murmured huskily through the smirk that was swiftly returning to his lips as his fingers crept between the soft globes of Eren’s backside to tease at the still slippery and eager orifice.

**Author's Note:**

> Our diet consists of comments and kudos.  
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> Reach Teapot on [tumblr](http://teapotscandal.tumblr.com/)
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> Check out our other fics [Thick as Thieves](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7414672/chapters/16841131), [The Wilds](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7696804/chapters/17536744), [Love Like Ours](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7351813/chapters/16699273), [The Raven's Nightengale](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7880638/chapters/17999641).


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